As one of television’s most famous couples, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan have rarely shied away from controversial topics.

Now they have addressed the assisted suicide debate – by revealing details of a suicide pact they have made following the death of Richard’s mother.

After 26 years of marriage, the presenters said they had made a ‘pledge’ to help one another if they were suffering and considered it the ‘responsibility’ of their partner, regardless of the consequences.

TV couple Judy Finnegan, left and Richard Madeley, right, who say they would help each other to die if the other was suffering

Under British law, a partner can be prosecuted if they help someone to die, even if it is abroad.

But Richard, 57, said: ‘If Judy was really ill and in logical mind, and at that point where you just need a little push to go over the edge, I wouldn’t give a tuppenny f*** if there was a risk of being prosecuted.

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‘I’d do what was right for my wife. And I’d take the consequences. That is your job, that is your responsibility as a partner.’ Judy, 65, added: ‘And I’d do the same. Stuff it all. We’ve made ourselves give each other a pledge along those lines.’

Her husband then joked about his method, saying: ‘For me, it would be the locked room, the bottle of whisky and the revolver. I wouldn’t want to mess around.’

After 26 years of marriage, the presenters said they had made a 'pledge' after the death of Richard's mother

The couple, who became grandparents 18 months ago, revealed they decided to confront the issue when Richard’s mother died last month. Richard said that although she had Alzheimer’s and lung cancer, her death came a shock.

‘At my mother’s funeral, the first eulogy was given by my 32-year-old niece who is heavily pregnant,’ he told the Daily Telegraph as they launched their latest Book Club.

‘She was stood in front of the coffin, grandmother, granddaughter and great-grandchild all in the same place. And it was … interesting. Because the death bubble really isn’t that dissimilar from the birth bubble. With both, you’re in this incredibly intense, closed world, and nothing else matters.’

Judy added: ‘I remember when my mum died in 2007 and I felt like I’d been kicked in the stomach. I felt something similar with Richard’s mum. It’s just the shock of death. It is so final … I suspect that the closer you get to your own mortality, the more final it seems.’

Assisted suicide remains a criminal offence in England and Wales, technically punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Guidelines issued in 2010 indicated that anyone acting with compassion on the will of a dying person is unlikely to face charges. Increasingly, however, severely ill Britons are ending their lives by travelling to clinics abroad, such as Dignitas in Switzerland.